Final Fantasy SS Soul Summoning
by Omega Devin
Summary: AU; Vampire MiyuFinal Fantasy. Not as weird as it sounds. (Discontinued)
1. ...And a Bite Bug Down Your Pants

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Author's Note: As usual, I do not own the characters or ideas to either Vampire Miyu or the Final Fantasies (but sometimes I wish I did). My friend Kurakura has helped me a lot on this one; thanks a lot, babes! Keep in mind, this is NOT a crossover; you will be seeing none of the characters from the Final Fantasies here, nor will there be any references to the original Vampire Miyu plot (i.e. Shinma hunting, the Japanese Spirit Realm, Guardian, etc.). This is more what I call a "shade", an overlapping of two or so different anime's but not making it a crossover. I know it sounds confusing, but once you read I'm sure it will be cleared up. This is also an AU, so don't worry about knowing the story line. There are some characters in here, however, that you may or may not recognize from my story When Friends are True, but don't worry, you don't need to know a lot about that either. Uhh…other than that… language and violence are the only warnings I can really think of, maybe some adult jokes every now and then. Miyu's about 18 in this, and everyone else is in their late-teen/early-to-mid twenties. Hopefully this will go over a bit better than my last attempt at writing an AU fic…yeah, the one that was also another try at a failed attempt. Third time's a charm, ne?

Damn, I have long intro notes. Oh, and if anyone can help me think of a good title, I'll give you a cracker.

Now, on with the show! I mean, er, fanfiction!

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The Unnamed

Written by Kyheena

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Chapter One

…And a Bite Bug Down Your Pants

At last, at long last, he was finally able to shake off the last dreamy-eyed girl and return to their table with a huff, only to meet his friend's grinning faces upon his return. "And that," said Lemures with a triumphant gesture of his ale mug. "Is exactly why I don't care for their type."

"Oh, shut up." Larva snapped at them, dropping into his chair and resting his head on his hands, trying to massage the headache away. "It's not like I asked for any of this." Had anyone been listening to that statement, other than his two closest and only friends, they probably would have dubbed the young man insane. Not everyone was blessed with the face and physique of a god, and it was a well-known fact that some men would kill for his good fortune with women. Even walking across the common room of an inn to pay the over-night bill, which was the errand Larva had just returned from, was a struggle to keep them at bay. Larva, on the other hand, found it exhausting and tiresome. There were sometimes he wished that he could just disappear.

Spartoi took a long drink from his tankard before speaking. "Well, you could always tell them what we are. That'll get them to clear off real fast."

"Oh, that's an excellent plan, Spartoi." Lemures responded in his sassy tone. "Telling them _who_ we are will certainly get them to clear out, as well as start a small riot while we're at it. Great plan, big guy."

Spartoi harrumphed, sitting back in his chair. He may have suggested it, but his friends knew that even he was not dull-witted enough to actually do something that foolish. "It was only a suggestion. I don't see you thinking of anything."

Lemures merely dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand, absently swirling the remaining ale in his mug around. "What time is it, Larva?" Since he was the only one sitting in view of the grand mantel clock sitting on the common room fireplace, Larva had no choice but to look up and look. It was at that time that the serving girl chose to come over to their table to seemingly pick up their mugs, but they were all aware of her pass to Larva. The batting of her eye lashes, slight purse of her lips and thrust of her bosom, the sway of her hips as she tried to get closer to their friend… But he ignored all of them.

"Almost noon." He reported, and let his head drop back into his hands. The serving girl frowned at the rejection and stomped away, dropping the mugs a bit forcefully on the counter before going to the next table in a sour mood.

With a sigh, Lemures pushed back from the table, standing and stretching his arms over his head. "Well then, we should get going. Master Pazusu will throw a fit if we're late."

They exited the inn and stepped out into the blazing spring day, the sunlight pouring down from above, making the city warm and radiant. Everyone who was anyone seemed to take advantage of the first trying nice day after a long and strenuous winter. Men were laughing and singing near the entrances of the local pubs and more common inns with their favorite drinking buddies, women moved along in small groups, happily chatting away as they carried on that day's shopping. All around them children were laughing and playing their innocent games with the dogs yapping at their heels. And on every corner there was at lease one sure-fire sign of winter was gone and spring had come at last; the traveling peddlers and merchants had finally made their grand re-appearance in the city, proudly displaying all the goods that had collected since their last visit. There were dancers dancing to the music performed by small bands and groups of brightly-clad gypsies putting on comical performances. They even passed a young sandy-haired illusionist who was putting on his show, and had obviously drawn the largest crowd of all. The people gasped and applauded in pure amazement as he dropped his head back and swallowed the end of a flaming torch, straightened, and exhaled a magnificent plume of fire into the air for his audience. The sun glinted off of his sea-green eyes as he smiled and bowed, particularly catching the eye of Lemures as they made their way through the throng. It took quite a bit of man power on both Larva and Spartoi's part to finally pull him away. 

It was indeed a day worth celebrating. Everyone seemed to be smiling. Except…

"My god, man." Spartoi said, slapping Larva on the shoulder with such force that he nearly sent the young man flying into a group of slack-jawed teenagers gawking at a scantily-clad belly dancer, her many bangles gleaming in the sunlight. "You look as if you have a storm-cloud hanging over your head."

Larva, who had been rather oblivious to anything around him at that time, was brought back to earth with sort of a mental bump, but he did not say anything. He only shook his head and continued to press his way silently through the crowded streets. Spartoi and Lemures stopped their fooling almost immediately; Larva had never been the real up-and-go-get-them type, but he was never this down-cast. The three had, after all, been raised almost as brothers, so they could always tell when something was not right was another.

"It's not those bloody dreams again, is it?" Lemures asked.

To their discomfort, Larva did not deny it. "I haven't been getting much sleepy lately; oh hell with it, I don't _want_ to sleep anymore. It's still the same dream…the same destruction, the same burning city, the screaming…and that blinding light before I wake up. But it's becoming clearer now; everything comes into focus more and more every time. But now…it's beginning to feel…god this is sounds stupid…real. You know how in most dreams everything's hazy, as if moving in slow motion?" His friends nodded. "Well, this isn't like it. It's as if I'm inside someone else's head, and viewing what they're seeing."

"So why does it have you so concerned?" Spartoi inquired.

"Because…because I think that _I'm_ the source of the chaos."

They did not speak again until the reached the city square.

The center of Shigaldi was a complex pattern of light and dark cobblestone spiraling towards a grand marble fountain that had been set up there. It was a beautiful sculpture of a women caught in an elegant dance among tall streams of water that flowed up to the sky before raining down into the large circular basin below. The city square was the height of the social activity. Vender's carts were set up only a few feet from each other and people busied themselves for hours looking that their good or listening to their stories of their journeys from afar while their children played in the fountain to keep cool. Most of the people of Shigaldi had never even been as far as the Capital City, so tales that came from outside the kingdom were as special as a treat as the merchandise from where they came. All this went unnoticed by the three young men. There were more personal issues on hand.

It was Lemures that spoke first, offering words of comfort that he was surprisingly good at. "Well, that's what we're here for in the first place, right?"

"That's right!" Spartoi joined in. Unlike Lemures, he would have never thought of saying that first, but Larva well knew that the big man's heart was in the right place, even if his mind was not. "Master Pazusu said that if anyone could help you, it would be the Keeper of the Pages." This time Larva did crack a small smile. It was the reason why they were here, his friends were right about that; they had not ridden for three days and nights for a mere pleasure trip. Besides, their Master had never led them wrong before.

Now all they had to do was actually wait for their Master to show so they could see the Keeper. After ten minutes, however, all three became restless; Master Pazusu was never late for _anything_. It was one of his traits that both awed and annoyed the young men alike.

"I'm starting to get worried." Larva said, pausing in his pacing. "The Master's never late."

"It's probably just the traffic. It's horrid today." Lemures responded nonchalantly. He was sitting on a bench before the grand fountain, his head dropped against the back, enjoying the mist given off by the falling water. 

No sooner had Lemures spoken, however, when a voice caught their attention above the hundreds of others gathered in the city square, undoubtedly addressing the three of them directly. "Excuse me, but I am looking for the young Lords of Lentereb. Are you they?" They looked to see it was a guard addressing them, the type usually posted at the gates of the city, dressed in light armor that bore the seal of the Shigaldi lord on his light medal breastplate. He himself was looking hot and irritable, no doubt from having the wade through the throngs of townspeople. 

"Yes, that's us." Spartoi answered, standing up from where he had been sitting on his heels. "Is there something wrong?"

"I have a message to deliver from Lord Pazusu Lentereb of Kazarin. He is unable to meet you at your designated meeting area; rather, he is in the Observatory with the Lady Keeper of the Pages. You are to instead go there to carry out your business with her."

"But we don't know where the Observatory is." Lemures protested, standing up from the bench and wiping the water from his forehead.

"That is why the Lord and Lady Keeper have sent me." The guard nearly snapped, Lemures' interruption displeasing him even more. "The Lady Keeper has requested you to retrieve someone for her. Apparently her apprentice is supposed to join you today in your meeting, but has not returned yet either. You have been asked to find her; she will take you back to the Observatory once you do."

"How are we supposed to find her?" Larva inquired. "There must be thousands of people in this city."

"She is not in the city." The guard said, a definite tone of "I-was-just-getting-to-that" in his voice. "She is in the fields beyond the north gates. And don't worry, it shouldn't be too hard to track her down from there. She's the only one we know of to go to the fields for fun." With that, the guard turned on his heel and stalked off back into the crowd. 

"What a rude fellow." Lemures frowned after the guard, his hands on his hips. On the other hand, the behavior of the guard was not what had Larva frowning. 

"'Goes into the fields for fun'?" He repeated, exchanging confused looks with Spartoi. "But isn't the lands outside of Shigaldi famous for it's high concentration of monsters?"

"And we're supposed to go out there and find her?" Lemures asked in disbelief, rounding on Spartoi and Larva. "We left all out weapons in the carriage with Master Pazusu! They except us to go our there completely unharmed?"

Larva resisted the urge to roll his crimson eyes, and just started walking towards the north gate of the city, leaving Spartoi and Lemures with no choice but to follow. "There haven't been any major monster attacks near Shigaldi for nearly fifty years, Lemures. The worse we can run into is a Thrustaevis; maybe a Wendigo, but even then, we may not see anything more than a few Bite Bugs or even a Glacial Eye."

"And that wasn't a reward sign for a T-rexaur that we saw at the inn last night?" Lemures countered, but Larva did not slow. 

"The farmer probably just over-reacted. Anything could have killed that cow. We have as much chance as seeing one of those as any other monster of that status. Besides, we have our magic. We can get by without weapons just this once. Besides, you're both Junctioned, right?"

Spartoi nodded confidently; Lemures only harrumphed. "That's something else I need to talk to once we're done with your problem. _He_'s getting to be a problem; won't listen to me half of the time and the other half I can barely control him."

"Well, then maybe we can get more answers from her than anyone else. I mean, someone's got to know something about them, right?" Once again, Spartoi was going off from one of Lemures' earlier comments, but it made them feel a little more confident. 

With the steady traffic of people flowing in and out of the city, the gates had been thrown wide open, allowing easy passage for both directions. Once they reached the towering Gates, Larva approached the nearest guard for perhaps a little more information to where they were supposed to find this girl, but the guard immediately jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Out thatta way." He commented in an almost merry tone. "It's not hard to miss her. She draws quite the crowd sometimes."

"Draws a crowd from fighting monsters?" Spartoi commented when they stepped beyond the gates. "Do you think she makes any money from it?"

"Hey, making money for fighting doesn't sound like a bad idea." Lemures chuckled. "I bet we could rake in the doe if we were to do it. I have to admit, we've been in some spots that _I_ would have paid to see! Remember that Malboro Pazusu caught and had us fight?"

This time, Larva did roll his eyes. "Oh yeah, that was great fun; at least it was for him. I'm sure watching three grown men stumbling over themselves and attacking one another due to a Confusion spell it a real riot."

"Hey, lighten up, will you?" Spartoi said, once again hitting Larva on the back in the fashion he did whenever he thought the other man was being too serious. This time, the blow did launch Larva several feet ahead of the rest of them. "I'm sure it wasn't any more embarrassing than when we got plastered at the Midnight Winter Ball last year. It probably looked a lot like when Lemures passed out and landed face-first in that punch bowl."

"Oh yeah, that was a real scream. Mention it again, and I'll feed you to that Ruby Dragon the Earl keeps as a pet." Larva did laugh at that. No matter what mood he was in, the two men he proudly called "brothers" always seemed to know what to say to cheer him up.

The guard was not kidding about the crowds; it perhaps was not as large as some of the audiences watching the performances within the city, but there were quite a few people gathered to watch someone brave enough to face off against the monsters that roamed the open fields. The ones that came to watch were, in a sense, rather brave themselves, as there was always the possibility that the monster could loose interest in its initial victim and attack those less prepared for battle. That was why they were sitting so far away from the show, their entertainer silhouetted against the sky in the distance.

Larva took not that they were on the cliffs that rose out from the beaches that lined the city. Shigaldi was the most important port of the kingdom, but it was also famous for its steep cliffs that gave a spectacular view of the land, as well as its famous stories of tragic deaths from the very same peaks. The sky was clear and blue that day and the ocean below the cliffs sparkling in the sun. And standing on the cliffs was a lone girl or small size and petite frame, her long brown hair tied in a ponytail at the back of her head. From what Larva could see, she was wearing dark leggings under a shirt that apparently had to be folded over on itself and held in place by a long white sash. Fighting monsters without armor. This girl was brave. In her hand he could clearly see that she was holding a longbow, and it was then he took note of the quiver on her back. Her stance was poised, ready to move in a heartbeat but right now she was holding perfectly still, her eyes focused on her target.

And her target was a Thrustaevis, the four leathery wings rowing the air as it hovered before her, waiting her to move first. The air had a tense feeling to it, even the crowd was sitting on the edge of their seats. The only thing that tore Larva's gaze from her was a sharp nudge to his side. "_Might_ see a Thrustaevis, huh?" Lemures taunted him, but Larva just ignored him, returning his gaze to the girl and her target.

Suddenly, with a cry, the Thrustaevis dove at her, talons outstretched as it missed her by inches. The girl threw herself to the ground just out of harm's way, but with amazing speed she rolled back onto her feet, swinging around on her heels, one arm outstretched. Larva felt a chill run down his spine as a light exploded from the Thrustaevis and traveled towards the girl as she enclosed it in her first, drawing the Blizzarda magic into herself and locking it away. He resisted the urge to whistle as Spartoi did instead. So she was a fighter and she used magic. At least she knew what she was doing. 

Outraged at her comeback, the reptilian bird circled and dove back towards her, its scream filling their ears. This time, the girl did not move out of the way. She stood now, picked up her bow and knocked an arrow, drew it to her ear and fired. With a sickening ripping sound, the arrow struck true, flying straight into the Thrustaevis' mouth and tearing it to shreds with the sheer force of its own thrust from the bowstring. 

Applause rose around them as the people watching stood and cheered her victory. Larva did not applaud with them, but he had to admit, that was impressive. Even most trained warriors he knew would not face an attacking Thrustaevis as she did with such cool composer and immediate recover time. From off in the distance, he watched her bend down to pick something up, examine it, and up it into her belt pouch before slinging her bow over her shoulder to come join the rest of the spectators.

"That was fairly impressive." Larva commented once they were in hearing distance. The girl, who had been wiping the sweat from her face, lowered the towel she was using and looked at those speaking to her…and Larva felt his heart leap into his throat. The distance he had first seen her from did not tell him that she would be so…so _attractive_. She could not have been any older than twenty, her face a perfect heart-shaped face that still had the defined high cheekbones of womanhood, and although her hair was disheveled and pulled back, it looked remarkably silky and soft. She was smaller than she appeared – much shorter than any of them were – but she did not have a bad figure either; in fact, she was perfectly proportioned in every way, her curves bold yet somewhat modest at the same time. But what Larva found most astonishing and almost chilling about her were her eyes. She had golden eyes. Not yellow or slightly orange, like he had seen on other people; her eyes were the color of polished gold and the summer sun, of rich honey and rare amber. He had never seen eyes quite like them. Oh hell, he'd _never _seen anything like them! Larva found himself wanting to know more about this girl who could face-off against a monster without flinching…but at the same time desperately wishing that she did not turn into another stammering idiot like all the other women did.

But to his surprise, as well as the surprise of Lemures and Spartoi, she only shrugged and started back down the hill in the direction of the city. "All in a day's work, I guess." She answered shortly. "The only reason why anyone comes to watch is to assure themselves that that's one less monster to worry about. It's not like I do it for anyone's entertainment. Now, is there something I can help you with?"

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Beautiful, strong, brave and intelligent…this is almost too good to be true. 

"Actually, we've been sent here by the Keeper of the Pages." Lemures said. "She asked us to find you so that you may escort us back to the Observatory."

"Escort you back?" The young woman repeated, stopped her decent from the hill and looking at his straight in the eyes. This is a bit awkward for Larva to say the least. There were very few women in this world who could look him in the eye and not break down into a fit of giggles, and those eerie golden eyes did not help the situation. "Do you have business with Ranka, or were you just the nearest group of people they could find to draw me back?"

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Ranka? Larva was ready to question who she was, but his rational mind quickly told him that she was most likely the Page Keeper. "As a matter of fact, we do. She specifically requested that we find you so we can attend our meeting with her."

She did not respond to that right away, but was instead undoubtedly sizing the three of them up. Larva had the uneasy feeling one got when facing a wolf. As small as she was, he did not doubt that should could take any of them on and give them a run from their money. "I haven't seen any of you before. Where are you from?"

"Kazarin." Lemures answered. Larva was surprised it had taken him this long before he decided to say anything; it was the man's nature to get at least one word into a conversation. He always felt uncomfortable staying silent during a conversation. Larva just hoped that he did not say the wrong thing.

Once again, the young woman did not respond right away; she only cocked her head at this in an inquisitive way, but then suddenly seemed to remember the name. "Oh, yes. You're the ones that arrived in the dead of night, but I don't remember being three of you. Are you with Lord of Shigaldi?"

Spartoi nodded. "We are, but we stayed in the inn last night. Pazusu told us that the Page Keeper likes her privacy."

"That she does." The girl said. "Besides the hired hands, I'm the only one who lives with her. My name's Miyu." She extended her hand, something that they had rarely seen women do.

"Larva." He introduced himself, taking her hand in his. They looked so small and fragile, but she had an iron grip. Almost everything about her was the complete opposite of what he expected. "And these are my friends, Spartoi and Lemures. Lord Pazusu is our Master and foster father."

Miyu released her hand from Larva's grip to in turn shake the other men's. "A pleasure to meet all of you. Oops, hang on…" Her voice trailed off when in a heartbeat she once again had her bow knocked and drawn, and before any could react she released it, the shaft barely missing Lemures' ear. Larva had been around archers before during their practice before, and he had always taken note of the unique whistle they made as they cut through the air. Only Miyu's arrow did not whistle; it _screamed_ as it raced across the field and struck cleanly through the center of the armored body of a Bite Bug. With a final hissing, clicking noise, the large blue insect fell from the air, dead. The men could only stare as Miyu lowered her bow, slinging it across her shoulder as if nothing had happened. "Now, shall we? Ranka doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"That was incredible!" Lemures was saying five minutes later as they walked across the vast open plane, the green grass rippling under their feet in the cool breeze. "That had to be at least two hundred meters away! How did you learn to do that?"

Miyu shrugged. "Practice."

"You go out and do this often?" Larva asked as he looked down at her, his amazement never wavering for a moment.

"Quite a few times every week, but mostly as a way to gather more magic or when I have a break from my studies. These monsters don't prove to be much of a challenge anymore, anyway. Oh sure, you get the occasional Cockatrice or Caterchipiller, but they like to stay near the forests; nothing like that really comes out into the fields anymore, but occasionally I see something that no one's seen in years. A few months ago I did come across a Granaldo… A Granaldo! Can you believe it?"

It was something to be impressed over. Granaldos – which were nasty and very large wasp-like creatures – usually inhabited denser, wetter forest climates. Finding one so close the coast so far up north was something to talk about. "Some would say that's a bad sign." Larva said gravely. Miyu nodded in agreement.

"That's what Ranka told me; it cut me up pretty bad, but only because I never fought anything like it. They're not strong, Granaldos, but it caught me off guard. Do you three ever fight? I don't see any weapons, but your magic levels are very strong. I take it your all magicians, and not bad ones either."

Larva could not help but to give a start, but Lemures spoke first. "Yeah, we are, actually. But how did you…"

Miyu shrugged again. "I could feel it. Magicians have a particular aura around them, and the stronger they are, or the more magic they carry in their soul, the more prominent it is. Can't you feel in on me?"

"Oh no, it's there loud and clear. It's just…" Larva trailed off. _It's just thought it was something only the three of us could detect._

"It's just…" Miyu repeated, inciting him to finish.

The blue-haired man only shook his head. "It's nothing. We felt it, but I thought I was just feeling ourselves overlapping, so I didn't want to say anything about it. Some people can get really offended if you call them a magician, for some reason."

"It's no surprise." Miyu said. "They're afraid of us. Some magicians caused a lot of problems in the past, so we're not the most popular people in the neighborhood. There's actually only one group of people who are less popular than we are."

"And what would that be?" Lemures asked.

Miyu glanced over her shoulder, giving him a "you-can't-be-serious" look. 

"Summoners, of course."

Spartoi coughed loudly, a sharp elbow in the ribs from Lemures the only thing shutting him up. Even Larva felt the blood drain from his face, but luckily, Miyu did not notice. He decided that a change of conversation was greatly needed. "So…what was the hardest monster you had to fight?"

He nearly breathed a sigh of relief when she took the bait. Apparently that had not been a topic she wanted to continue either. Miyu thought for a moment before answered, biting her tongue lightly. "Not sure. I came across a few Grat that gave me some problems, and maybe the Granaldo. How about the three of you?"

"Malboro." The three men responded at once, with Spartoi snorting in laughter again, only to receive another sharp elbow in the ribs from Lemures.

"So there aren't any real dangerous monsters out here, are there?" Lemures asked. Larva nearly laughed in spite of himself; it was only a matter of time before that question came up. "Well, I mean, any monster can be dangerous if you're not careful, but…"

"You're talking about that reward sign for the T-rexaur, aren't you?" Miyu finished before he could even mention it. "Nah, the old fool just over-reacted when something attacked his livestock. It was probably just a Cockatrice, but it certainly wasn't a T-rexaur though. No one's seen one of those in about a hundred years. The chances of a T-rexaur coming to Shigaldi are a thousand to one."

And as if on cue came the most horrible and spine-tingling noise any of them had ever heard; a huge, gargantuan bellow that exploded from the woods growing not too far from where they stood, echoing and rebounding off the hills all around them. Hundreds of birds burst from the canopy as they took flight and several smaller monsters came fleeing from in between the trunks. The small party stopped in their tracks, and the sound traveled so far that the people traveling on the road and those left over from watching Miyu fight all turned to see what the horrible commotion was. 

"And that would be a one."

In the next instant it looked as if the forest had exploded; branches, leaves, and entire trees were even uprooted and thrown to the sides as one of the most dread monsters came charging towards them. It was a full grown T-rexaur, it's molten red and deep purple scales gleaming in the sun, claws flexed and huge jaws open wide as each thundering step it took shook the earth beneath their feet violently. Even through their surprise they were able to dodge out of its way, the massive clawed feet and swinging thick tail missing them by inches as the four of them scattered, diving into the grass. From behind them, they heard a mass of screaming as the people who had been watching panicked, making their way back to the city walls as fast as they could.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Lemures cursed loudly, pushing himself up onto his elbows where he was lying on the ground, watching the T-rexaur to pause and roar at the scattering people. "We have to do something before it eats someone!"

"But what can we do?" Spartoi shouted back from a little ways away. "We don't have our weapons!"

"Ice spells! Blizzards! Blizzardas! They're weak against ice! Anything cold!" Miyu commanded as she sprung up to her feet. "You got ice magic, right?"

"Only a handful." Larva responded as he stood up as well, ignoring the stinging sensation in his shoulder.

"Here then…" Miyu ran over to him and quickly seized his hand, entwining his long fingers in hers. A rush of cold flashed through his body, touching every corner as Blizzarda spells entered his body from hers, strengthening what ice magic he already had. Once the transfer was complete Miyu released his hand, turned, and through a particularly large and powerful Blizzarda spell at the back of the monster's head. The spell struck true, shattering against the back of its scaly skull. The T-rexaur turned and bellowed, forgetting about the weaker townspeople and charging straight for more savory looking snacks. Something in the back of Larva's voice was screaming at him to run, to flee this rampaging monster, but he kept his feet planted firmly on the ground as the four magicians threw flurries of Blizzards and Blizzardas at the thick body. Miyu had been right about the ice spells, however; each attack that hit true made the T-rexaur flinch, stumbling a little as it ran, making it not only weaker, but angrier as well. 

"Duck!" Spartoi was just able to yell over the monster's bellowing roar when it finally bared down upon them, snapping Lemures and Spartoi first, who just barely managed to move out of the way as the jaws snapped shut inches away from their boots. They did not let the closeness of the creature discourage them as it was hit with twin well-aimed Blizzard spells, but while the part was concentrating on its head, they failed to see the threat of the tail. A low growl shook them to the bones as the monster glanced behind it after shaking the ice from its eyes, the acid-green orbs locking on Miyu's petite frame. With another earth-shaking bellow it turned with more speed than seemed possible, the long thick tail swinging directly at Miyu's head, taking her by surprise so much that she did not have enough time to move out of the way that was certain destruction.

But it was not the tail that hit her first, knocking the wind out of the lungs and sent her sprawling to the ground. Rather, it was the impact of Larva's body against her own as he threw himself against her, the force of the blow strong enough to carry them out of harm's way with only inches to spare. "Miyu! Larva!" Lemures hollered, but there was no response. It seemed as if Larva's heroic save had not spared them; the impact had knocked them both unconscious, and the T-rexaur had seen this. It had completely forgotten about the other targets, and was lowering its head down to the two defenseless people; Lemures could swear that it was almost smiling. 

"Do something!" Spartoi shouted. "The ice spells aren't working, and I'm out! You have to have something stronger!"

"Do something!" Spartoi shouted. "The ice spells aren't working! You have to have something stronger!"

Lemures could not deny it; he had something that was stronger. They all did, something that could defeat the beast easily but…

_I can't. Not now, not in front of all these people. If I call him… I would rather face the monster._

There was only one choice he had left; his one and only Holy spell, the only one he was ever able to Draw from one of his fights that he prized greatly and planned to use in a very special occasion. Well, he would not call this special, but it was certainly needed. The young man straightened, closing his eyes, searching the depths of his very soul for that one spell. It had to be here…he hoped that magic did not expire…

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There. That one single collection of precious magic, small compared to the vast collection of all other magics he possessed, but surely stronger than any of them put together. Reaching deep inside himself, he called upon it, and the spell jumped to the opportunity. Opening his vibrant green eyes, Lemures rose his hands above his head as the white-hot energy of the spell gathered in his palms, so bright that it made the sunlight seem dull. "Holy!" He commanded, and threw the spell at the T-rexaur. The monster had moved in for the finishing blow, it's jaws opened wide, saliva dripping from its massive pointed fangs, when the Holy spell hit, punching through the tough skin and thick muscles, vaporizing its heart on impact, killing it instantly. The creature did not even make a sound as it fell dead to the ground, landing so hard that anyone standing around would swear that they had just experienced a small earthquake.

"Nice shot!" Spartoi commented. Seeing a Holy spell in action was rare; not too many monsters used it.

"We can celebrate later." Lemures said. "Are they alright?"

It was the impact of the dying beast that awoke Miyu. The back of her head ached and the world around her seemed to be spinning. Groaning, she sat up, or tried to at least. Something was on top of her, preventing her from really going anywhere. Eyes snapping open, she felt herself flush then blush when she realized that it was Larva on top of her, also unconscious, but coming awake as well. So he had saved her from the T-rexaur? It was not that she was not grateful, but the particular way they had ended up…

"That is so like him!" Came a voice from behind her, the teasing drawl that she recognized as Lemures. "Here we are fighting for our lives and he's serenading the ladies!"

"Ah…wha…?" Larva mumbled as he awoke. "What happened?"

"Argh! Get off me!" Miyu exclaimed, pulling away from him, sending the young man sprawling once again face-first to the ground. 

Spartoi exchanged a smirking look with Lemures. "Well now there's a first. I think she's the only girl to ever say that to him."

"All three of you are sick!" Miyu grumbled as she stood up, brushing the dirt off her and snatching her bow back up. 

"Hey, I just saved your life back there!" Larva retorted back, trying his best to stand up himself, but hissed in pain as a sharp pain cut across his shoulders and back. This was enough to make Miyu turn back around.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Larva said, finally able to get to his feet but wavering where he stood. "I think it got me when I saved you." He reached behind him and touched his shoulder, then redrew his arm and looked down at his hand. There was not any blood, but he would probably have one heck of a bruise. He certainly would be feeling _that_ in the morning. But when he looked up again, he found himself looking right into Miyu's eyes, her hands raised to his face, making him startle a little. "What?"

"Cure spell." Miyu said in an innocent tone. "You were hit back there. Stop moving so I can cast it."

"I can cast my own Cure."

"I insist. And eye for an eye; you save me, I heal you. Stop…stop moving, will ya…"

"I said I'm okay!" Before he could get away, Miyu had slapped him firmly on the forehead with the palm of her hand and cast the spell. The cool, refreshing feeling of the Cure washed over him, dulling the pain in his body to a dim ache. Miyu pulled back, a triumphant sort of smile on her face. "Better?"

Larva moved her arms, testing his once sore muscles. "Yeah. Thanks."

"I'd hate to break up this touching moment…" Lemures interrupted. "But I think we're all being expected. If we are any later, I think I'd want to face that T-rexaur again rather than the Master's wrath."

"I have to agree." Spartoi responded. "Shall we?"

"Do we have much of a choice?" Miyu said, and continued walking in the direction of the Observatory, Larva, Spartoi, and Lemures limping slightly after her.

****

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To Be Continued

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Author's Notes2: So, what did you all think? Yay or nay? Personally, I'm having a blast with this, and it's growing more complex all the time. Basically, if you were to turn the story of Miyu into an RPG, it would be a lot like this. Kinda, sorta. I dunno. So because it would be like an RPG, would you guys be interested in me writing a glossary to keep something straight? Like characters, towns, monsters, etc? I don't think the story will be _that_ complex, but it would be something to keep around. Let me know in your reviews.

Oh, and BTW, the next chapter of When Friends is up in case you are interested (numba 26). For some reason it won't show under the Miyu section, so check that out. You can get to it through my author's profile. 

Until later, cya!


	2. Before the Keeper

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Chapter Two

Before the Keeper

Being raised the son of a lord, Larva had seen his share of splendorous and awe-inspiring structures, but for some odd reason, the observatory that the Keeper of the Pages maintained was far beyond any that he had seen before. 

It was not until he stepped into the observatory that he was truly amazed. The outside was, to be blunt, plain and almost unsightly. The actual observatory was a tall medal shaft of a tower fashioned completely out of copper, which was turning green and actually rusting slightly due to the long-term exposure to the sea air. It was topped off with a plated dome, which more than likely where the telescope was housed. A smaller, more rectangular building was joined to the tower, closer to the rocky cliff that looked out to the sea; the living quarters, without a doubt, made from the same dull medal as the tower. Both structures lacked the feeling of homeliness, especially with the shortage of windows with led to the extermination of what would otherwise be an impressive view of the city and port below. Not exactly a place Larva could see himself living in.

"This is the famous Shigaldi Observatory?" Lemures snorted under his breath to his comrades. "It appears as if it's more likely to have chickens pecking around on the inside."

"Cozy, isn't it?" As if she could read his mind, Miyu's words jarred him out of his thoughts so unexpectedly that he actually jumped. "Don't let the outside put you off. Keepers intend to be rather important, so the government takes care of us. Come inside, and take off your boots. Ranka hates it when the floors are messy; any excess dirt can mess up her observations. Oh, by the way, what time is it, would you say?"

"Probably a little after ten thirty." Lemures said after a moment's pause. "It might be a little closer to eleven. Why? Will we be in that much trouble?"

Miyu shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. I was just making sure, because we might have to duck once we get inside." Before any of the young men had a chance to question her comment, Miyu pushed the heavy double copper doors open, and they indeed had to duck as a large brass object missed their heads by inches. When they were able to stand up straight again, what rendered them completely incapable of speech.

The immediate center of their attention was the source of the object they had to dodge. Positioned in the center of the tower, rotating and spinning in a perfect, almost hypnotic precision, was a perfect replica of the known galaxy in which their whole existence lived within. Planets and moons crafted of shining copper spun in graceful, swooping arches around each other and around the "sun" centered in the middle, the movement of the very heavens mimicked in almost perfect harmony by the humble man-made clock motor set underground that controlled the fabulous model. Lining the circular tower walls were shelves upon shelves of books, stacked from floor to the ceiling, packed tight with yellowed parchment, ancient scrolls and dusty volumes that contained endless knowledge of the stars and heavens. And at one of the far ends of the tower sat a magnificent redwood desk piled high with yet more written documents, along with countless candle stubs, instruments used for calculations, scales, charts, crystals, and even a human skull. From where they stood, Larva saw that there was only half a ceiling under the Observatory dome, but since it was closed, it was too dark to see anything. If he was lucky, maybe the Keeper of the Pages would allow him to see the telescope once their meeting was over.

"The boots, please." Miyu's voice once again called them back from their trance-like state, and Larva had to shake his head once to clear his mind. He wondered if one could ever get used to coming into the tower and not gawking like a fool, but Miyu seemed to prove it as she propped her bow against a rack by the door, hung up her quiver and proceeded to remove her boots. Without another word and still unable to take their eyes off the sight that lay before them, the three young men followed her example, leaving their footwear neatly by the door as they followed Miyu deeper into the tower. Once inside it became a little more difficult to look around at their surroundings, as now they also had to keep their eyes on the model of the galaxy to avoid being knocked out cold by one of the passing planets. It was at last Lemures who spoke first.

"So where are Master Pazusu and the Keeper?"

"In the back." Miyu responded as she lead them across the width of the tower and over to a door that they had not noticed before, which more than likely lead to the adjacent building alongside the tower. Miyu approached the door and rapped on it with her knuckles three times, stepped back and listened. Even through the heavy wood, Larva heard from behind the door a soft voice that gave them permission to enter. "Please keep in mind before we go in," she said before pushing the door open. "Don't speak unless you're spoken to, and answer all she asks. The Keepers of the Pages are always highly respectable people, and therefore she will expect it. And you have to address her as 'Lady Keeper' to keep it formal. I think that's about it, but you'll probably know if you do something wrong. Oh, and by the way, Lemures, watch out for Abrion."

A look of extreme puzzlement came over Lemures' face; it was to be expected. Abrion was their world's largest moon, so why would he have to look out for it? But before he could even open his mouth to question her advise, a loud metallic clang filled their ears and Lemures was left sprawled-eagle on the ground as the copper model of the moon swung away. "Told you." Miyu said with a shrug. "Let's go." She turned around to face the door once again, took hold of the crystal handle, and pushed the door open.

The room was unexpectedly dark compared to the tower, all the curtains pulled tight over the windows and tied shut, all outside light sealed behind their dark folds. And it was warm inside too, almost to a point of where it was uncomfortable, especially with the fire blazing in the far end. There were no other lights; the hundreds of candles that lined the shelves and walls were all unlit, their waxen stalks glowing orange. This must have been where the Keeper and Miyu slept; there were two beds set up on opposite sides of the room, and a round table in the center with several chairs surrounding it. It looked as if the entire room was in the exact same state it had been when it was first built; there was no obvious electric lights, no stove for cooking food, only a copper cauldron sitting to the side of the fireplace. A teakettle hung over the flames now, only placed there recently as a soft boiling noise was emitted from it. Even more shelves lined the walls stuffed full with more books and scrolls, their old, dusty odor mixing with the smell of some sort of incense.

As expected, their Master and Lord did not even as much as move his eyes when they entered the small room. Pazusu was a handsome man in his late thirties, his black hair long and tied into a neat tail at the back of his head. His whole manner and attitude clearly said that he was a man of high respect and honor, and even though he did not demand it, he excepted that he was to be treated in that way. And the presence of that feeling was doubled with the Keeper of the Pages sitting just opposite of him.

Larva was surprised at how young the Keeper actually was…or appeared to be, anyway. He had one of those imprinted images in the back of his mind that the wiser a person was, the older they were. From what he heard of Lady Ranka, he expected her to be an old woman with white hair and a frail, withered complexion. What she actually was the complete opposite of that. She appeared to be younger than Pazusu by some years, her shoulder-length hair ebony-black and her ice-blue eyes serious and focused, set in her pale, beautiful face. Even though she was sitting, she did not appear that tall, but she held herself as if she was six feet tall, back straight and head raised. Like Pazusu, she did not so much as twitch when they entered the room, but she was the one to speak first.

"You're late, Miyu."

"Forgive me, my Lady." Miyu said politely, dropped a small bow in respect. "I brought the young men for today's meeting, but we had some minor…troubles on the way. An unexpected monster attack."

"What was this monster, Miyu?"

"A T-rexaur, Lady. The first one to be seen in over a hundred years. We brought it down with ice spells and Lemures brought it down with a Holy."

The news of the monster attack was enough to make both Pazusu and Ranka look at them for the first time. "A T-rexaur?" Pazusu repeated. "This is serious. Have a seat , you four. We have much to discuss. Lady Ranka, may I introduce to you my three foster sons, Larva, Spartoi and Lemures." The three of them bowed to her before taking their seats around the table. Miyu walked around opposite of them and sat herself beside Ranka.

"So…these are the ones, are they?" Ranka said, looking over each of the young men. Larva had an itch on the inside of his skin that wanted him to move away from the Keeper's pressing glare. He felt like a mouse being stared down by a hawk, and just as helpless. 

"Yes." Pazusu answered. "We were hoping to get some answers about their…situation. Lately the magic grows stronger, and are becoming harder to control. _Their_ thoughts are becoming stronger, more prominent."

Once again, Larva fidgeted in his seat, and he could feel the same discomfort radiating from Lemures and Spartoi. The situation did not become any better when Ranka said: "Why don't the young men tell me exactly what's happening?" And it was an order, not a question. Larva was feeling even more trapped than ever.

"It's….it's not really speaking, but we can feel them. _Their_ thoughts, _their_ powers…._their_ very wills. We can hardly fight anymore, because the battles excite _them_, calls to _them_. Sometimes… sometimes it's almost too much to control _them_, to push _them_ back. _They're_ growing anxious." Larva was looking at his hands the entire time as he spoke, but he risked a quick glance up at Miyu, wondering if he would meet a puzzled, confused look in return. To his surprise, Miyu was not even looking up… her own golden eyes were cast down at the table as she traced the patterns of the wood with her index finger. She looked ultimately…bored, as if there was nothing unusual about what he had just said.

Ranka, on the other hand, did not brush the matter off so lightly. "So…they feel is as well."

"Feel what?" Miyu asked, finally looking up.

"The changing of the world." With one smooth motion Ranka rose from her chair, smoothing out the folds of her robes nonchalantly and circling the table to stand beside the hearth. She was smaller than what Larva expected – perhaps no taller than Miyu – but once again, she held herself in a way that made Larva feel like the small one.

Despite the closed window and the blazing fire, Larva felt a chill run down his spin as if someone had cast an ice spell on him. There was something frightening about Ranka's words, about her tone of voice, which made his skin prickle every hair on his body rise. And, to her words, something stirred in his mind, and a growl only he could hear echoing in his head. He angrily pushed the presence away and forced himself to listen.

"Um…Lady Keeper, if I might ask… What's with all the secrecy?" Lemures asked cautiously, a way to break the uneasy silence.

"The world is becoming increasingly more dangerous by the day, we cannot afford to take any risks." Ranka said gravely. "It would prove to be disastrous if the wrong person were to hear the conversation that will pass between us."

"More dangerous?" Spartoi repeated. The flash Larva was able to pick up in Miyu's showed slight annoyance; so far both Lemures and Spartoi had forgotten what she had told them about how to address the Keeper. Although he did not show it, he could tell that Pazusu was slightly taken aback too, as well as a little ashamed of them. But, surprisingly, Ranka did not seem to mind. Apparently what she had to say was more important than the respect they were showing to her. "I understand that there are a few more monsters running around, but I do not see how that makes the world more dangerous as a whole."

"Tell me, child." The Keeper's voice was even softer now; Larva almost had to strain over the growl in his mind to hear what she was saying. "If I were to ask you to find a village that was a mile away, could you see it better from the ground or looking down from on top of a mountain? You forget that I can read the signs of the planets, moons and stars, and they tell me more than the land under our feet ever could. And they are taking a path that I was hoping that I would never see in my lifetime.

"As you may or may not know, the serene balance of the world is based solely on the magic that runs through the veins of the very existence. It's like a river that will never run dry, a very ocean of raw, untapped power that surrounds us every moment of our lives. And, like an ocean, the magic is prone to tides, which is based on the movement of the moons and the stars of the heavens. It's an unending cycle, a partnership that will last until the end of time.

"However, just like any scale, no matter how well-balanced it may seem, it can always be tipped." Ranka sighed, and shook her head slowly. "That is what we are seeing right now. The moons are moving into alignment, the sun stands in their shadow, and the stars are forming into a very unlucky constellation. It's beginning to alter the flow of magic of our world, and it's turning it for the worse. So far, humans cannot feel it, but the creatures of this world – both monsters and animals alike – can feel it. This is why we are seeing so many rare monsters in areas that they have not appeared in hundreds of years. They know something is wrong, and it is brining out the worse in all of them.

"And there is also one very clear shred of evidence that the tides are changing."

She paused there, as if for dramatic emphasis, but it held their attention like a death-grip; only the sound of the crackling fire and the hissing teakettle could be heard. Even Pazusu was poised at the edge of his seat. After a moment of painful silence, Larva spoke, his voice uncomfortably loud.

"And….what is that sign, Lady Keeper?" He asked cautiously.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Ranka's mouth, but it in no way offered any sort of comfort. "If I understand it correctly, we have four Summoners sitting in this room as we speak. Rather …unusual, if you ask me, since the world has not seen a collection of more than two in the last hundred years."

Lemures broke down into a serious of violence coughs; Spartoi fell off his chair. Larva felt the blood drain completely away from his face and suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He wondered later why their reactions were the way there were; it was obvious that Ranka knew that they were Summoners, that was the sole reason why they were there in the first place. It must have been hearing it said aloud; it was very rare when someone said the world "Summoner" aloud because of the fear the title installed…

That thought made Larva remember what Miyu had told them earlier… 

__

"The only thing that people fear more than Magicians are the Summoners…"

He was almost afraid to look at her. Was she one of those people who feared Summoners? Very slowly, he raised his eyes to look at her, only to see that she once again went back to studying the tabletop; he was not able to make out the look on her face. He guessed he would have to wait and see what her reaction was when he finally made full meaning of what exactly it was Ranka had said.

"Hold on a moment…_four_ Summoners? There were only three by my last count."

This time a smile of amusement did appear on Ranka's otherwise serious face, a smile that still did not reach her eyes. "Ah, then I suppose that your Master had done a fair job at keeping his secret from you." 

The three young men turned to stare unbelieving at their Lord and Master, but the older man only shrugged. "Some people choose to keep secrets for their own reasons."

The silence lasted for another moment before Lemures fell back against his chair, arms crossed and pouting slightly. "Well, I certainly feel violated of trust."

"However…" Ranka broke in, bringing them all back to the current situation. "It's not enough that there are four of you alive as it is. Being Summoners yourself, you should at least know how it works. The ancient scrolls have kept a record of sixteen known Spirits, born from the very moment that time began, to be reborn into the souls of mortals when fate calls them to be. There has not been an event that has touched the lives of mortals in the history of this world that did not have a Spirit involved in it solution…or its problem. The direr the event was, the more and the more powerful the Reborn Spirits were."

The Keeper drew a deep breath and slowly turned to return to her chair at the table. The ominous feeling that was already present in the room was now pressing down upon them like a lead weight, making it seem hard to breath. "From what the stars have told me, our world is falling into a dark, downward spiral towards something that I don't dare to imagine. All sixteen Spirits have been reborn to mortal spirits, you four being the first I was fortunate enough to find, but unfortunately, your power is not enough to stop whatever it is that is coming. The reason why they have been called into this world again is still unclear to me; even the stars can only tell me so much. But what I do know is this; your destinies have been laid out before you, and even though they are foggy, you must not run away from them, and you must not be afraid. You can not change your fate, it has been written in the heavens long before you were ever born. The only thing you can do is prepare yourselves so when the time comes, you can rise to meet it, if you are strong enough to."

Larva lifted his head from his hands when she was through speaking; he had not even realized that he had been rubbing his eyes in a desperate attempt to clear his mind to make sense of what Ranka had just told them. A part of him understood vaguely; the other part only wanted to run away as he felt his own destiny pressing in all around him. It was too much, too soon, and the fact that they did not even know _what_ it was did not help the situation. 

"So…" Spartoi began slowly, unsure. "What are we supposed to do? Wait until something somewhere happens, then rush in to stop it?"

"Until the stars tell me more, yes. However, as I have stated before, the four of you are not enough to stop whatever it is that is coming. That's why your Master and I have come up with a little task for the four of you, and when I mean four, I mean Miyu is to accompany you. I have already spoken to her on the subject." Miyu was looking up again, looking but not seeing as she nodded in agreement. "The four of you are to seek out the remaining twelve Summoners, wherever they may be, and rally yourselves together. Your Spirits must be joined together if we have any hope of overcoming what it is fate has in store with us. Just one missing can be the drawing line between victory and defeat."

"What you ask sounds impossible." Lemures said, doubt shadowing over his handsome features. "That's twelve people out of the entire world population. And, if I understand correctly, the Summoners are not the most welcomed people in the eyes of humans. We just can't go up to people and _ask_ them if they know of any local Summoners. And even if we _happen_ to come across one, they're not going to be too willing to openly admit what they are. I know that we wouldn't if someone asked us."

"That is why Miyu is going with you." Ranka said, her voice slightly hinted with agitation. "When you begin your journey, I will give her a crystal that has fallen into my possession many years ago that will specifically single out those who have Summoning powers in their spirits. The aura that radiates from your soul is quite different from everyone else's, so when the crystal glows, you will know when you are in the presence of a Summoner. It has come to my attention that other than your four, there is another in this very city. I highly suggest that you search for him as soon as possible; as soon as tomorrow would be the best time. After you find him, you can begin the search for the remaining eleven.

"Just keep in mind that the universe and fate alike move to their own schedule, and wait for nothing. I cannot stress how important it is that you find the other twelve Summoners as soon as possible. This event will not wait for you to catch up, and so if you shall fail to gather all sixteen Spirits…" Once again, she shook her head. "I cannot even think of the consequences. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

"Yes, Keeper." Larva said, his mind remarkably clear and rational. "We will search for the fifth Summoner tomorrow. Once we find him, we await your orders for the next move."

Both the Keeper of the Pages and Lord Pazusu nodded at the seemingly unanimous decision and stood up from their chairs. The looks on both his foster brother's faces suggested otherwise, but they did not say a word against it. "Well then… it looks as if you have a long task before you. I have sent the servants away for the occasion of this meeting. I know that they are not the same as your luxurious quarters that you are used to back at your own home, but they will have to do for the time being. I can assure you that at least there are no chickens pecking around on the floors." The Keeper smiled again, and Lemures fidgeted noticeably, his face growing beet-red. "You are free to return to the city if you wish until sundown. It is not wise to wander in the fields after dark, or you may retire early. Miyu, tonight is the eve of the third quarter. I expect the reports on my desk in the morning."

"Yes, Lady Ranka." Miyu said as she stood from her chair as well. Taking it as a signal to the end of the meeting, the three young men followed her example and rose as well to leave the room. Larva was, as usual, the last to go, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him where he stood. When he glanced over his shoulder, he was surprised, to say the least, that it was Ranka holding him back.

"I would like to speak to you before you join your friends." She said. Although he voice did not hold the tone, there was something in her eyes that told him that this was going to be an important conversation, and one that was meant to only be between him and her. He nodded without questioning, and closed the door when Spartoi had exited. 

When the Keeper spoke again, her voice was softer and more serious than it had been before, frightening him to the core. "I do not know exactly who it is you and your friends Summon, but Lord Pazusu has told me about your rather interesting case. Dreams, as I understand, of a burning city, and a light that overrules all senses at the end?"

Larva did not meet her gaze or answer her. If he had felt sick to his stomach before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. Without looking the Keeper in the eye, he nodded slowly. Why was it that something you were already aware of sounded so much more horrible when someone else spoke it in words?

If Ranka's face could look any more graver, it did at his affirmation. "Unlike your Lord and comrades, I know what is happening in those dreams. I am also unsure of whether you want to hear it or not, but before you give me your answer, I have already decided that you are not ready to learn the truth behind it, so you don' even have to worry about asking. But when the time is right, I will tell you; this is something that you must learn to rise up and meet. I will tell you this much, however.

"You must fight him, resist him. He calls to you within the shadows of your mind, doesn't he? A sweet beckoning that you feel your soul bending to as if you have no control over it. Just keep in mind, child, that you can fight him and win over his own summons. Remember that is your will and soul is strong, it will be him bowing to you, and not the other way around."

"You make it sound easy." Larva said softly and perhaps a bit more bitterly than he had intended. 

"I was not saying that is would be. However, you must keep this in mind." Larva was now looking at the Keeper's face, as if an invisible hand had turned his head to make him do so. "If you should fail to quail his summons, then I think we can say why it is that all the Spirits have been called back into the mortal world. It was because of him that they were called into this world the last time. History has a funny way of repeating itself. Let's try to make an effort to keep it from happening. That is all."

There was no use to further try to talk on the subject. Larva's mind was spinning as if it had been caught in a whirlpool. Nodding again, he opened the door of the Keeper's living quarters and left. As expected, Lemures and Spartoi were waiting outside. Miyu was sitting in the corner, re-stringing her bow. "What was all that about?" Spartoi asked when they saw Larva re-emerge. "Hey, Larva… Are you feeling all right?"

Larva brushed past them in a very uncharacteristic way, heading for the door of the Observatory. "I'm going to go lay down for a while. I'll see you around later." Ignoring the questioning remarks of his friends, Larva shut the heavy brass door behind him and walked around to the other side of the tower. The servant's quarters were there as the Keeper had said, as rusted and broken down as the rest of the tower. Thankfully they were also empty on the inside; Lord Pazusu had done one of his strange disappearing acts again, which means that they would not be seeing him until later that night. There were five beds on the inside, all of which were empty, their traveling supplies piled on four of them. Larva found his bed at the far corner, near the window, his traveling bags on the mattress and his weapon of choice, a modified scythe, propped against the wall. In the past, the site of Gravedigger always gave him some feeling of safety, but today, he did not feel it. With a heavy sigh, he pushed his bags on the floor and lay down on the bed, closing his eyes tightly, trying desperately hard to block out the low laughter in his head.

* * *

When Larva awoke again, it was night. The sky outside the window was black and scattered with stars and the waning sliver of the moon hanging among them. He wondered how late it actually was until he heard Spartoi's trademark snore told him it was later than he would have guessed. Lemures and Spartoi were notorious for being night owls; they were always up later than anyone else who lived within their castle. So if they were both asleep…

__

But what did it matter if they were both asleep? He snapped inwardly at himself, pushing himself up from the rumpled sheets. _The fact is that now _I'm_ awake, and I probably won't be sleeping well for the rest of the night. Maybe a walk will help me clear my mind…._

Or get me thinking too much.

Swinging his legs over his bed and running a hand through his powder-blue hair, Larva crept as silently as he could to the door of the servant's quarters and slipped out into the night. He did not even bother with his weapon; there could not be anything too incredibly dangerous hiding in between the quarters and the Observatory tower that his magic could not take care of.

The night was comfortably cool and clear, the light of the pale moon shimmering off the calm ocean below the cliffs. The breeze was light and coming from the west, bringing with it the comforting salt smell of the sea. Larva breathed in the scent deeply, a soothing sensation washing away his worries for the present. Times of tranquility like this were rare anymore; at least for him, anyway. Ask anyone else and they would think the world was find and dandy, but the information Ranka had given them was hanging over his head like a dark cloud over his mind, misting over his thoughts. 

Of course, he knew he was being ignorant if he assumed that Lemures and Spartoi felt the same way. The two of them put together were never nearly as serious as he was the majority of the time. But, then again, they did not have nearly as much to worry about either. True, the Spirits that resided in their souls were becoming more active than they were in the past, making them a little more difficult to control, but it was not a fraction of the problems Larva had with his. And after what Ranka had told him today…

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought away. He had come out here to clear his mind, not to get himself worked up.

Sighing again, he looked up towards the sky, looking at the sea of stars that filled the world beyond theirs. It was also then that he noticed the dome of the Observatory; it was open, and the fabled telescope protruding towards the sky. He remembered Ranka telling Miyu earlier that day that she was to observe the sky tonight; did that mean she was still awake? She did not seem like the type to retire without returning the telescope to its proper place when not in use. It would be nice to have someone to talk to, he thought to himself, but then paused. Would she even want to talk to him now, now that she knew what he was?

__

You're being a fool. Stop being such a coward. He retorted to his own naïve thoughts. _You're going to have to work with her to find the other Summoners, so it's no use running. Might as well find out how she feels now so you know what to expect for later._ All he worried about now was the Keeper and her apprentice not minding him paying a midnight visit. Scanning the area for any possible monsters that might be hanging around, he hastily made his way to the front door of the Observatory. Opening it the tiniest bit to make sure he would not be knocked out cold by any passing planets, Larva slipped in and shut the door behind him.

There were no lights in the tower; the objects and grand galaxy model were only outlined in the slightest by the light of the waning moon. Up above, it looked as if the roof had been removed from the tower, giving him a full view of the heavens above. And, several seconds after the door had closed, a head poked out from the platform that the telescope sat on, long hair falling over her face like a sheet. "Are you always like this, or do you just sleep walk?" Miyu asked in a teasing manor that actually took Larva by surprise. At least she was not afraid of him. 

"No, I just could not sleep. I thought watching the galaxy model would help calm my mind. It has a soothing rhythm."

"That it does." Miyu agreed, her voice echoing faintly off the walls of the tower. "But I know something that's even better. Come on up, and I can show you something really neat. The ladder's on the wall that faces west." She disappeared from sight. 

Larva felt the heat rise a little in his face and was ashamed of the thought that had entered his mind. _I've been hanging around those two oafs for too long._ He thought with a small smile, climbing the ladder up to where Miyu was. _I guess I can just be really grateful that they are not here right now, or I'd never hear the end of it._

Like most of the other instruments of the Observatory, the telescope was crafted of brass; twenty feet long with a lens that had to be eight feet in diameter, narrowing down dramatically into the eye piece that Miyu was looking through. She had a notepad on her lap, her pencil skipping across it madly, and she was holding her hair over one shoulder to keep it out of the way, her features softly accented by the illumination of the stars and moonlight. Larva actually found himself having to tear his gaze away from her, wondering if she could see the color in his cheeks he knew was there. "So…do you know what the stars say, like the Keeper does?"

"Not yet." Miyu answered without removing her eye from the eyepiece. "Right now the only thing I do are take the reports of their current position, and then Ranka's the one who does the reading. Sounds like fun, huh?" She moved away from the eyepiece, throwing her long hair back over her shoulder. Larva had to advert his eyes away again, but before he did, he could not help but notice the half-smile on Miyu's face, the type used in a sarcastic, joking manner. Did that mean that she…was not afraid of him? "Actually, she's been teaching me a little more about what the patterns and numbers mean that I take down, but right now, it's just the small stuff. See this one?" She stood up from her chair and walked over to him, showing him what it was she had been writing. It looked only like a bunch of gibberish to Larva; small dots connected by lines and tagged with numbers, creating some sort of carefully calculated pattern. Miyu traced a slim finger over one side and corner. "I kind of know what this one means, but I can't tell you what it _really_ means, if you get my drift." She ran her fingers gently down the pattern. "'_Change comes to all, seeming betrayal turn to hope_.' As you can see, it's really simplistic right now. Ranka's so good that she can get these readings down to the day they're going to happen. I have a long way to go. Right now it's mostly just broken sentences, like trying to read a whole other language." Larva was only half-paying attention to what she was saying. Her shoulder had been resting against his arm while she spoke, making it incredibly hard to concentrate.

"That's pretty good for someone with little experience. I couldn't tell you what any of that meant if my life depended on it." Larva looked up at the stars above. For some reason, they seemed much closer from up here. "I almost like it better when there's no moon. You can see more of everything else."

"If you think that's impressive, you should try looking at it through the telescope. Just don't mess with any of the knobs and whatnot. It can mess up a whole night's reading, and besides, it takes hours to get right again." Moving aside so he could look, Larva bent his head and looked through the eyepiece.

She was right; the universe as seen through the telescope was absolutely incredible. The stars glowed with a fierceness that could not been seen from the ground, and the telescope was so powerful that he could actually see some of the galaxies beyond theirs, their spiral shapes drifting lazily through the grand sea of nothingness. "Wow. That's really…really something. I don't even know how to describe it."

"I know." Miyu said. She was now sitting on the ground, her legs drawn up to her chest. "No matter how many times I look at it, I never get tired of seeing it." Larva nodded and stepped back, but Miyu did not return to the chair. She had a peaceful sort of look on her face that gave Larva the feeling that she was enjoying the break and, moreover, enjoying having some company. _It wouldn't hurt to stay here a little longer than, I guess._

"So…how long have you been here?" He asked. It sounded cheesy, but it was at least something to start a conversation with.

"As long as I can remember. I don't know who my real parents are. Ranka adopted me when I was three, and I've been here ever since. She said that I had the rare gift of Star Reading, and she desperately needs an apprentice to carry on her work. What about you? Your Lord said that you were his foster sons, but what of Lemures and Spartoi? Are they your real brothers?"

"As much as I wish, no. We were like you; three orphans abandoned in a cold, uncaring world. Pazusu took us in when we were toddlers. We know that he's not our real father, but he did such a good job raising us that what else can we call him? Sort of like how I would never hesitate to call Lemures and Spartoi my brothers although we are in no way connected by blood."

"But you should be grateful you have that." Miyu said, a small, almost sad smile on her face. "Although Ranka took care of me since I was a child, she's always been by tutor. I can't call her mother, as much as I would like to sometime. She will always be my superior before my family."

Larva felt a pang of guilt and wished that he had not said anything. "Ah…oh, I'm sorry…I hope I didn't offend you…"

Miyu waved his apology away. "No, no, it's not a problem. I'm not saying that there's not a bind between us, it's just not like the one you have with your family."

"It didn't start out like that." Larva continued, glad that he did not upset her. "As good as a man Pazusu is, I don't think he would adopt three sons out of pity. He told us not too long ago, actually, that there was something special about the three of us that he had to look over. Well, you can guess what that was. I mean, no one would have been too willing to adopt three would-be Summoners. Like you said yourself, people are afraid of people with that much power. Something tells us that we would not have made it very far on our own if anybody had found out."

Miyu had changed her position a bit, so now her elbow was on her knee so she could rest her chin in her hand. "I wonder why it is that people fear you. I mean, from what Ranka said today, it sounds like the Spirits were created to make sure everything goes right in the world."

"Something tells me that we're not getting the whole story just of yet. I know that the Spirits, although their ultimate intentions are good, have caused some serious problems in the past, perhaps when they were even trying to fulfil their duties in that era. I also have a feeling that we might be finding out what that is, whether we want to or not."

Silence fell in the tower after that. What was there to say, on both of their parts?

"I have to finish these observations, then get to bed." Miyu said, standing up and returning to her chair. "You can stay until I'm done. I don't know how tired you are know, but you're welcome to stay until I'm done."

Larva nodded, walking over to the far end of the telescope platform to look out to the city of Shigaldi. The cool spring breeze played with his fine hair, and the moonlight illuminated his handsome features with a sort of angelic grace. It was now Miyu who felt herself blush and focus towards what it was she was supposed to be doing. It was also her turn to question her words "I didn't…say anything, did I?"

Larva looked back over his shoulder, and smiled a little. "No, it's not you. I just have a lot on my mind. It was nice up here, though. I think I can say that I'm going to enjoy the trip with you with us." This time Miyu _did_ blush and buried herself in her notebook again. Larva smiled a little more; there was something about her blushing that was so much cuter than the other girls he met. He would never admit it aloud, but he liked being with her, even though he had just met her earlier that day. What was it about her that made her so different from everyone else…? Shaking his head, he turned back, looking back towards the port of Shigaldi…and paused.

"What the…?"

Miyu looked up from the telescope. "What?"

"In the city…I see smoke. And flames. Lots of flames." Miyu was at his side with a smaller brass telescope in hand, looking out towards the city.

"It's not just one…there are several, spread throughout the city. It…it looks like it could be a raid, like it's under attack."

"Let me see." Miyu handed Larva the telescope.

"Who could be attacking Shigaldi, and for what reason?"

"Not who, what." Larva said, setting down the telescope and dashing back to the ladder, Miyu closely behind him.

"What do you mean what?"

"I saw them going into the city, and I know their weapons. The serrated ends of their spears…those are ogres, and they're on the warpath. It looks like they're searching for something."

"We have to go, then." Miyu said when they touched back down on the bottom floor of the Observatory. "A lot of those people there are going to be defenseless, but at least we can do something. They're only ogres…they cause a lot of damage, but they're not that dangerous. Between you, me and your brothers, it should not take us long to flush them out of there."

For a brief moment, Larva considered the risk involved. How worked up would the Spirits get if they went into this battle? But, then again, the longer their waited here, there was a higher risk of people getting hurt. "Alright. I'll go get Spartoi and Lemures, and I'll meet you outside."

-----

To be Continued…

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Author's Note: I've already got some questions about this story, so I'll clear a few things up.

A monster is an animal that is potentially dangerous, and will attack almost anything that moves, as compared to any other animal that is pretty passive. Monsters are also originally created from magic, so even today they have a high concentration of magic in their bodies. Each monster has a different type of magic, and this can be drawn from the monster by those who use magic. People are not born with magic, but those who can use magic can draw. Depending on a person's soul, they can store a certain amount of magic within their own soul and each type of magic is kept in a neat little package in a way. Although it sounds weird, the magician can tell what type of magic they have and how much of each there is.

Wow, never knew it was so complicated, huh?

Until next time!


	3. Out of the Frying Pan

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Author's note: Woot, finally done! I think this is a pretty good chapter here, so I hope you enjoy. PS, if you want to see pictures of what Miyu and Larva and Ryuko's outfits look like, than e-mail me and ask. They're pretty cool.

__

Chapter Three

Out of the Frying Pan…

By the time they had neared the city walls of Shigaldi, the flames of the burning structures had blazed so high that it cast their shadows back across the field, long and jet-black. Debris littered the lush grass, some pieces still smoldering, the embers burning sending up thin tendrils of smoke where they lie. At the front gates, the doors had been completely torn off their hinges, the wood splintered horribly and pin-cushioned with arrows and spearheads. There were people flooding from those gates now, all in panic and fear, not understanding the full meaning behind this surprise attack and for what reason the ogres were there.

"This is really bad!" They were just barely able to hear Lemures over the din of screaming civilians and the roar of the fire that raged around them. It was rather difficult to push through the flood of people until they were finally able to regroup near one of the buildings that was still intact, but had still seen better days. Larva was still somewhat surprised how they were able to get back into the city and not accidentally hit someone with the weapons they carried back in, especially since all four of them were fully armed. It was not exactly easy to push through a crowd of people armed with a sword, scythe, bow and arrow; Lemures was the only one with a smaller weapon, and therefore was able to make it through first. They were also dressed in the clothing that they normally battled in. Larva wore a long black trench-coat with a tattered hem, his silver star necklace shining brightly around his neck. Lemures wore a long coat adorned with strands of small silver chains, and Spartoi wore what looked to be very light armor over his clothing. Miyu wore the same clothes she wore earlier that day, except for a hip-guard that was usually worn by archers and her shoulder guards had clear sleeves. She was also wearing some interesting ornaments that Larva had not seen before; a there was a small head ornament on her forehead with thin, curved golden extensions circling a red jewel, and jewelry of similar design between her collar bones and another on her waste. "Why would a vagabond clan of ogres go out of their way to attack the city?"

"Because they were looking for some_one_, not some_thing_." Miyu said. "Look at exactly _which_ buildings have been torn apart. Is anyone else seeing a pattern or is it just me?" Larva looked to each of the building that had been initially gutted and were nearly consumed by flames, but it was still easy to see exactly what they had once been.

Inns. Hotels. All places that could house travelers and those who did not plan to stay long. "This is getting stranger by the moment." Larva commented. "Who do you think they could possibly be looking for?"

"I don't know." Miyu said. "But I have a feeling that there's a deeper motive behind it. I mean, ogres are rather stupid creatures. They usually don't move in distinct patterns like this, and they stay away from larger human populations if they can help it."

"Then that only leaves us with one other option." Lemures spoke. "That they're being driven by something else. But how are we gonna find out who it was they're looking for?"

"It doesn't matter who they're looking for!" Miyu said, her gold eyes flashing eerily in the blaze of the fires around them. "The fact is that they're _here_, and people are going to get hurt if they're not stopped! We're the only ones who can drive them out quickly and efficiently! So let's go!"

"And guys…" Spartoi finally spoke, mostly to his two foster brothers more than to Miyu. "Watch yourselves, okay?" Lemures nodded confidently. Larva, however, did not. He could already hear the excited growl in the back of his mind, a faint stirring that he pushed back immediately. The Spirit only chuckled, and retreated to the darkest corners of his psyche to watch and wait.

They made their way through the broken and burning streets, picking their way through the smoldering debris, following the trail of destruction deeper and deeper into the heart of Shigaldi. "Uum, something just occurred to me…" Lemures panted just behind Miyu. "What are we going to _do_ exactly when we encounter these things? I mean, we're obviously going to be outnumbered, and if we don't go in with some sort of plan, we're in big trouble."

"I heard ogres are weak against poison attacks, but that's about it." Spartoi's voice sounded even further. "But I think Lemures can Sense. Is that right?"

"Yeah." The other man panted back. "Whoa! Out of the way!" He and Spartoi were just barely able to seize Miyu and Larva by their collars and hauled them backwards, out of the streets and into a dark, adjacent alley. Before the other two could protest for their companion's actions, they shut up themselves as a din of grunting, snarling voices reached their ears, and they pushed back further into the shadows as a pack of close to twenty ogres shuffled past the very opening of their hiding spot. Larva had recognized the weapons of the intruding army, but he himself had never seen an ogre in real-life, and they were exactly as he pictured them to be. They were shorter than the average man, their backs bent over and their shoulders hunched, the light of the fires reflecting off of their tough, leathery skin and their oddly shaped heads. They were covered from head to foot in tough, thick armor, and from what Larva could see, were absolutely armed to the teeth. It was already clear that physical attacks would do little damage against them.

They stayed crouched in the shadows, unmoving, hardly daring to breath, well knowing that if they were discovered hiding in the dark alleyway, they would have little chance of escape, even if it was four of them together. After what seemed like hours, the last ogre shuffled by, and they carefully left their hiding spot, making their way stealthily down the street until they were well out of earshot. "Lemures, did you Sense them?" Larva asked as they huddled under the broken remains of what had been a store overhang.

"Yeah." Lemures nodded. "You're right about the Poison thing, and they're also weak against Ice and Fire. Not that that helps a lot, as we used most of our Ice magic earlier today…" The last part was said in a near-mumble, but then he remembered the situation and added quickly, "Don't waste your strength with physical attacks; their vitality is super-high."

"Well, fat lot of help that does us." Miyu whispered harshly from her spot below them, her face usually pale face eerily illuminated in gold by the firelight. "Even with the four of us combined, a collection of Fire spells and even fewer Poison spells is not going to be enough to drive a whole army of these things out of the city."

"Maybe not," Larva said, "but ogres aren't the smartest creatures in the world, and I read once that they intend to act as a collective group. If we're lucky enough to get a few of them into a panic, than the rest of them will think that they're being countered against, and they'll all clear out." There was a silence in the alleyway, and by the flickering light of the burning city, Larva could see his companions turning the option over in their minds.

"Alright." Lemures said, straightening fully and putting his weapons – hard, bony gauntlets that Miyu did not recognize – onto his hands. "This is the best plan we've got…so let's give it shot." There was a silent, unanimous nod of agreement and, gathering their weapons, took off out of the ally at a near sprint…

And right into another oncoming squad of ogres.

Perhaps the only reason why they were not skewered on the ends of the barbed blades of the spears was that the sheer element of surprise of four humans bursting out of the near-black shadows of an alleyway had happened too quickly for their minds to register it. The tips of their weapons were mere inches away from their faces, and Larva was the first to realize this. Taking a firmer hold on Gravedigger, he slashed at the group of armored creatures with one wide, graceful arch of the deadly curved blade. It grazed the armor of the ogres closest to them, not doing nearly the damage that it could have done to a normal opponent, but it was enough to scatter the ogres and open a path of escape. "Come on!" He snarled to the others, involuntarily grabbing Miyu's wrist and nearly dragging her through that opening with Spartoi and Lemures not too far behind.

"I thought the original plan involved them running from us, not the other way around!" Lemures shouted, and sounded as if he was going to say more, but whatever it was, was cut off by a short, loud yelp, and not more than a second later something clattered at Larva's feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a spear disappearing down the street as they ran, and more began to follow the first in a deadly rain of serrated iron. Then a low, guttural shout, that nearly made him stop in his tracks.

"After them! They're the ones we've been looking for!"

"Us?" Miyu gasped, finally able to wrench her wrist free from Larva's strong grasp. "What can they possible want with us?"

"I don't know, but I sure as hell know that I don't want to find out!" Larva answered, clenching is now free hand into a fist. All he knew was that for whatever reason the ogres could want them, they could not allow themselves to be caught by any means necessary. Reaching into his spirit, he called forth a Fire Spell. Not breaking their sprint, Larva threw his hand out behind him and unleashed the spell onto their pursuers. Orange and red flames burst before the front row of ogres, making them falter and fall back a few steps, but they were soon back on their feet before a second Fire spell exploded among them again. But the Fire spells were doing very little damage, and having to cast while running was difficult and cumbersome, and it was slowing them down as well.

Then something small and glowing green flew through the air, towards the swarm of attackers; a tiny glass jar full of some acidic green liquid. It fell into the middle of the charging ogres, and a cloud of green acrid smoke billowed among the short, stocky bodied. Hacking and choking reached their ears as the ogres collapsed as the Poison working its way into them and, finally, they began to retreat.

After what seemed like hours, they finally slowed and stopped, trying to catch their breaths. "Us?" Spartoi gasped in between heavy breaths. "They were…looking…looking for us? Why?"

"Only one reason…I can…think of." Larva replied, leaning heavily on Gravedigger.

"Are you…suggesting…" Lemures panted. "That those…things…know about us being…" Despite his exhaustion, he still had more sense to speak that one dreaded word allowed. "…being what we are? What can a bunch of stupid…dull-witted ogres want…with us?"

"Damn if I know." Larva said, finally regaining his breath and straightening again. "But I sure as hell don't want to find out. But I'm also sure that they're not here looking for us on their own. Someone else must have sent them to bring us out."

It was the only plausible explanation he could think of; this may have been his first face-to-face encounter with an ogre, but he remembered from his past studies that ogres had been known to be hired in the past – for a very good price, that is – to do the work of those who were afraid to get their hands dirty. And so if there was someone out there who wanted them, although for what was beyond him, of course they were not going to try to take on three Summoners by themselves. "That Poison Powder seemed to work well on them. Spartoi, do you have any others?"

"No." Spartoi said, shaking his head. "That was the only bottle I had."

Larva nearly groaned. "Does anyone have any extra?" Again, he received negative responses from both Miyu and Lemures. "Well, now what?"

"I know what." Miyu said, her eyes suddenly focused hard above Larva's head. "Run!" Without giving him a chance to question her meaning, she drew an arrow, knocked it, and drew the shaft back to her ear before letting it fly. Larva was just barely able to follow its swift path with his eyes before it struck true, impaling an ogre through the breastplate; it fell to the streets with a final dying scream, landing with a sickening thud. It was then that he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that they were surrounded. 

"Run!" He repeated to the others, and ran they did, but it was no use; the deformed creatures were suddenly everywhere. On top of the buildings, melting out of the shadows of the alleyways, emerging from the rubble of collapsed buildings…it was as if they were coming out of their very woodworks of the city. They were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in adjacent streets, preventing them from taking another path or from splitting up. _They're driving us,_ Larva thought with a growing feeling of dread. _This is exactly what they want. _But between the options of stopping and letting the monsters swarm over them, or trying to stay out of their hands as long as possible, it was obvious which option was better to choose.

Perhaps Larva was not giving the ogres as much credit as he should have, because even as they did their best to stay out of harm's way, the attackers definitely had the upper hand as they were driven through the city. Every now and then, however, an ogre would leap at them from the shadows, weapons bared and the spiked blades aimed right for their hearts. But the monsters were built for strength rather than speed, and no matter how stealthy or quick they thought themselves to be, the four whom they were driving just proved to be faster. And arch from the blade of Larva's scythe, or a thrusting blow from Spartoi's broadsword cleared the way quickly. Quick thinking on Miyu's part cleared away anything that might have been blocking their way ahead of them, whether it be ogre or a piece of debris in their path; the forward acceleration of her arrows way enough to knock almost anything out of the road. Lemures' weapon helped out in the long-range too; it was one that Miyu had heard of, but never seen in action. The man had a set of Lashing Gauntlets, a weapon that looked to be a regular pair of gloves with long, thick chain-like tendrils that could be whipped out at his opponents, wrapping around them like snakes and squeezing the very life out of them. Effective, and strong; Miyu could see the chain imprints on the iron armor of the fallen ogres as they ran by.

But still, it was not enough to keep away the hoards of attacking enemies, and they soon realized the horror that they were fast running out of road to run on. Within moments, they found themselves in the city square along with a couple hundred frightened and confused citizens.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Lemures shouted as they came to a screeching halt, echoing Larva's thoughts exactly. Everywhere they looked, he found himself staring into dozens of hard yellow eyes and meeting the ends of barbed spears and swords. Not wanting to make any sudden moves, the four fighters made took cautious steps backwards, backs towards each other, holding their weapons at the ready position but making no move to actually do anything. It did not take a genius to see that they were greatly outnumbered, and only a fool would try to fight them off. The situation looked inevitable.

Dead end. Game over.

"Well… now what?" Lemures asked over his shoulder, not removing his eyes from the scene before them.

"There they are…" Came a guttural growl somewhere to Larva's right, but he dared not turn his head, to break eye contact. One of the ogres was speaking, and hundreds of eyes were suddenly boring into his skull. "The ones we have been sent to seek. Seize them, but they are not to be killed! Do as you will with the other humans." Larva had to fight very hard to not let the fear show through his face as the ogres began to advance, although very slowly like hunters stalking dangerous pray. All around them he could here the citizens of Shigaldi gasping in fear; women moaning, children weeping into their mother's aprons and husbands defenseless to save their families from certain doom.

Rage boiled in Larva's blood. It was going to be pure slaughter, a massacre of the innocent. All these people were going to die because these things were after them and them alone, and yet there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Well…

There was one thing…

He hissed through his teeth as a sudden image flashed through his mind. A burning city, even more horrible and destructive than the damage the ogres had caused on their raid, and a blinding, dazzling flash of gold like the rising sun… And a deep, bellowing laugh, mocking him, but yet… At the same time, beckoning to him, as sweet as the most lulling song… And a promise of a power beyond his wildest dreams…

"Larva!"

Larva awoke with a start, startled out of the lull he had unwittingly fallen into, but he knew exactly what it had been, and he cursed himself violently from the inside. He had nearly given in that time… But he would not give in. Not give in to _his_ wills.

"Where were you? We kind of got a situation on our hands!"

"I'm aware of that!" Larva hissed back at Lemures. "Things are just getting a little…harder to control in certain cases, _if you know what I mean_." The other man did not respond right away, but rather his face was fixed in an expression that was not frustration, but it was one that Larva knew all too well; he was fighting as well.

Spartoi, however, looked thoughtful, as if he had just realized that the most obvious solution available was staring him straight in the face. "Hey, guys… You said these things are weak against Poison, right?" Larva felt the pit of his stomach drop out of existence; he knew what Spartoi was planning, and the idea made him more nervous than facing off against a million ogres…defenseless! 

"Spartoi…You…you wouldn't…"

"It's the best chance we got!" Spartoi shouted back, agitated. "They are weak against Poison, and _he's_ made of the stuff! I would rather risk that than handing myself right over to them!" Larva wanted to say something against it – he even opened up his mouth to do so – but no words would come forth. He knew it was pointless to argue with the bigger man now; he had spent the majority of his life studying the ways of the Knight for years now, and one of the most important lessons was never surrender, to never give into your enemy's demands, even if it meant your own downfall. Honor lost was the greatest shame. He was now upholding that belief, and so trying to talk him out of it would do more harm than good. And besides, what other option did they have? And his foster brother was right. Anything sounded better than going with the ogres.

With a defeated sigh, Larva closed his eyes. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing." Each word felt as if it had a hundred-pound weight attached to it. Spartoi nodded, turned his broadsword over and stuck it into the cobblestone, where it stood erect. Folding his hands over the hilt, it seemed as if he fell into some sudden, deep trance, his eyes rolling back slightly.

Suddenly, all around them, the air began to thicken, weighed down by some incredible force. But it was not a physical feeling, pushing down on their bodies; it was going deeper than their bodies, compressing their very souls... Everyone seemed to notice it, not just the other two Summoners; the people all around began to look around for the source of the disturbance, and even the ogres stopped their stop advance. Within Larva's ears, he heard a call, hearing something that itself was not a sound, but it reverberated inside his head…

__

Come hither… come forth…

"What's he doing?" Miyu asked, pressing closer to him.

"He's Summoning."

Then the sky began to bleed. It changed from an inky black, the color of night and smoke, to being shot through their rivers of red, as fresh as freshly spilt blood, running and blending together until there was more red than black. The air turned hot and heavy, and sweat from heat rather than anxiety beaded Larva's brow. Then the very air began to shimmer, and before the spot where Spartoi stood, a massive pair of crude wrought-iron doors appeared before a line of buildings, the area around them turned as black as death. The whole town square turned silent, eyes locked on the ghostly gates, the feeling of fear accelerating to great heights, the feeling of foreboding becoming very heavy as people and ogres alike who were the closest to the gates began to slowly back away…

Suddenly a deafening bellow filled their ears, reverberating off the walls of the buildings and making several people clamp their hands to their ears. Most of the ogres began to try to run away, but there were so many of them that they kept tripping over themselves, unable to escape fast enough as not one, but three pairs of glowing yellow eyes appeared from on the other side of the gate's iron bars. There was something very big and very, very angry-looking on the other side, and it was to no surprise when several people screamed, especially when the gates swung open and unleashed the beast within.

And out from the darkness charged a massive, gray and gray three-headed dog, its thick leathery skin glistening in the fire light and its long, thick tail wiping dangerously, clearing out the remains of a building behind it, knocking the debris into the night. With three great, bounding leaps in landed in the middle of the city square, tossing its three heads towards the night sky, its glowing breath steaming, yellow eyes rolling madly and many fangs glimmering in the light of the fire. Several people started screaming, trying to get away from the monster as fast as they could, but the beast made no motion to chase after what probably looked like inviting pray, but rather than attacking those trying to escape, it remained nearly motionless, its tail wiping formidably back and forth. But while people were backing up from around them in fright, Larva and his companions remained motionless, staring at the beast in awe, rendered completely speechless by the sheer power that radiated from its being. The creature looked solid enough, but it itself did not seem to be…truly alive. In fact, if Larva had a chance to put it to words, it did not seem to be really "living", not the way that humans, animals or monsters did. If anything, this thing seemed to be at a higher state of existence all together.

__

Because it is a Spirit…

"Cerberus." Miyu breathed the single word, finally stepping out from behind Larva, a sense of wonderment in her golden eyes.

"You know his name?" Larva asked quietly, not tearing his eyes away from the Spirit that loomed over them.

"Yes. Ranka required me to learn them all. He is Cerberus, the fourth known Fyte; the Gatekeeper."

Fyte; a term that Larva had only heard a few times before, and one he was surprised that Ranka had not used earlier that day. The formal name of the Spirits, used by scholars, religious figures, and other people with respect towards the higher beings. So, naturally, it was not a term that Larva did not hear very often, but the very word – _Fyte_ – held in itself a sort of power, something that suggested so much more…

Spartoi seemed to be the only one void of any reaction to the Fyte, approaching the giant without any trace of fear, and lay a hand on a heavily muscles shoulder. There was a strange look in his eyes, and Larva saw with a slight shiver that they were glowing in the same light and with the ferocity as in Cerberus' eyes. "Wash the ogres out of here, Cerberus, but don't harm the humans." Spartoi commanded, his voice taking on a strange, hollow tone, as if he was speaking from within a deep canyon. "Triple Pain, now!"

Cerberus responded by tossing his heads again, roaring, his long, thick tail lashing as he clawed at the ground, as if he were throwing some sort of fit. Then he lowered his three heads again, jaws closed, but a sort of acidic-green light was glowing from behind the fangs, growing in luminosity as the triple set of jaws opened again. From within the depths of these massive jaws Larva could see three condensed balls of raw, pure energy that he could feel growing in strength and power within his soul, magic in its purest form…

With wild howl, the Fyte released its attack upon the hoards of ogres; three acidic green rockets that hurtled towards the enemies, plowing into the monsters and taking them out by the dozens, making them writhe and sputter as the Poison spell washed over them. The ones that were not taken out by the attacks made a mad dash to escape the city, their panicked cries and shouts filling their ears, but they were unable to get away fast enough as Cerberus unleashed another wave of Triple Pain attacks on them. All around them people were screaming and falling to the paved ground, covering and protecting themselves from the onslaught of attacks. But after the second wave, things began to come back under control as the remaining ogres, tripping and stumbling over their own fallen, escaped into the night.

Within moments of their departure, Spartoi collapsed to his knees, and Cerberus faded to nothingness, as if her had never been there in the first place, and everything in the city square returned to its original state; original state, that is, excluding the massive gate, which had disappeared with the Spirit. The sort of link that he had with the Spirit seemed to dissolve right away too, and a sort of empty ring filled his ears, as hollow as the sudden yet momentary sensation in his mind, and he was just barely able to make out his own name being called as his companions rushed over to him, kneeling beside him to make sure he was alright.

"Will he be okay?" Miyu asked, concerned as Larva and Lemures helped their foster brother shakily to his feet.

"I think so." Lemures said, allowing Spartoi to lean on him as the bigger man seemed to be quickly gaining his sense back. "It's only happened once or twice before, but Summoning takes a fair amount of energy out of a person, but he should be all right in a few minutes."

"_You're_ the reason why those…those things were here?" An angry outburst from somewhere behind him made the blood in Larva's veins run cold, and he was almost reluctant to look behind him to see where the voice had come from. Standing behind them were the mobs of Shigaldi civilians that they had, for the time being, forgotten about, all wearing mixed expressions on their faces. Shock. Fear. Mothers shielding their children away from them as if they were more monstrous and dangerous as the ogres. And, most of all, anger, reminding Larva of the look that came into a person's eyes when they had learned that they had been betrayed by a close friend.

"They were after you!" One soot-covered shopkeeper snarled at them, brandishing a pitchfork in their direction furiously. "It's your fault that those creatures were here and that we lost half of the city!"

"N-no…" Larva stammered as he and his companions pressed closer together. "You're wrong! We had no idea that they were after us! We were only trying to help…"

But his attempt to defend themselves only seemed to make matters worse. "It doesn't matter!" Another man shouted, and all around them they could feel a growing anger pressing in on them from all sides, growing quickly to what was unmistakably hatred. "And it does not matter what your attempts or notions were! All that does matter is that you are what you are! Summoners!" An outraged roar filled the city square, drowning out the sound of fire that surrounded them, and each word that reached Larva's ears was like a dagger being driven into his soul.

"Summoners!"

"Demons!"

"Breakers of the world!"

"Breaker of souls!"

"What are you babbling about?" Lemures bellowed back at the mob. "What have we done to you to make you hate us so…" The anger in his voice suddenly vanished like smoke, and fear replaced it just as quickly. "Whoa…wait… What are you…" And Larva felt the same fear seep into his veins as he took into account of what was happening. All around them the civilians of Shigaldi were closing in on them, pressing into a tight circle, shoulder-to-shoulder and blocking absolutely any means of escape. Even more terrifying was the assault of weapons pointed in their direction, no more complex than common farm tools, but at that moment they appeared to be formidable and very deadly.

"This is for ye own goods, lads." Another man growled. "For ye souls, and for the good of the world."

"Be that as it may, let the girl go." Larva said, easing Miyu forward just a bit (despite her physical protests to retreat backwards) to show their attackers that he was not pulling any tricks. "She's only an innocent who has nothing to do with us."

"Let _her_ go!" Lemures yelped from behind. What about _us_?" He was quickly silenced with a sharp elbow to his side. However, the citizens did not relent, and were sure as hell not going to answer to Larva's request.

"Only if we could." Yet another man said, and this sounded sympathetic and a little sad, as if he was regretting something he had done before it was even taken place. "Unfortunately, it has been seen that she too has been caught up in you affairs. It's for your own good." 

At that moment, it definitely seemed as if they had come to a dead end. Sure, they had weapons that were a hundred times more effective than those being used against them, and magical abilities to boot, but these were people they were fighting against, not monsters. And these people would die is they let loose, something that would make the situation a lot worse than it would better.

It was going to take a miracle to save them now.

And, quite ironically, that miracle rose to occasion with amazing grace.

It was as if he had flown down from the heavens, when in fact their savior had leapt from one of the lower, intact buildings, clearing the heads of the circling civilians and landing cleanly in the middle of the circle they had formed. With two quick slashes, moving so fast that they were mere blurs, the weapons before him fell apart like cleanly chopped vegetables, making the men gasp and recoil back, rethinking their actions. Their savior did not relax and held his defensive position, firelight gleaming off the triple stainless-steal blades that were extended like claws from his hands. "You dare turn your hostilities on those who saved your lives?" The young man spoke to the crowd. "The only monsters I see at the present it you!"

"Hey…" Spartoi finally spoke, eye narrowed towards the newcomer. "We're seen him before." The bigger man was right, Larva realized when he got a good look at the young man, and saw that it was the performing illusionist that they had in fact seen that very morning. It was the same shaggy, sandy-colored hair framing a fair face and vibrant, sea green eyes. But now he had completely shed his good-natured, entertaining manner and had taken on the guise of a trained and skilled warrior. And there was something else, something deeper to him that seemed to get under Larva's skin, and prickled something inside his soul that was the tale-tell sign of a natural magician.

However, there was something else that particularly sparked the attention of the resident of his mind…

"Don't be a fool, boy." The first man with the pitchfork said dangerously to the illusionist. "You're getting yourself mixed up in things that are best to stay out of. Leave while you still have the chance."

The boy did not seem threatened at all as the circle once again began to tighten around them. "Perhaps I am…but I would have found myself in this situation sooner or later. And I will not just sit and watch the murder of innocent people who are blamed for a past that they are not responsible for."

"Ain't nothing innocent 'bout them." The second man countered. "As far as we know, that's stopping them from wreaking the same havoc again?"

The boy did not respond right away, but instead cocked his head and peered at the civilians through narrowed eyes. He may not have been that tall – he was, in fact, a lot smaller than any of the men he was guarding – but he knew that trick that Pazusu seemed to have mastered, and was giving the image that he was ten feet tall. Then his sea green eyes flashed back in Larva's direction, and for the briefest moment, an image flitted through Larva's mind, momentary but very clear. He saw a grayscale image of the city, exactly in its current condition, completed empty of people, and running through it, a very clear trail of aquamarine that wound through the streets, towards a section of broken wall, out into the forest…

An escape.

And a message. _Head to the north wall. I'll hold them off and meet you there._

Larva understood the unspoken message and nodded, then, without trying to move too much, noted to Lemures and Miyu to the direction in which they would be running. It seemed to be that they got the same image too, because they nodded without question. He just hoped that Spartoi would be strong enough to make the trip. A means of escape verses certain death or no, he was not about to leave his brother behind, weak and unable to defend himself fully.

Without waiting for confirmation, the illusionist took something from his pocket and threw it into the crowd, and the purple smoke of sleep powder erupted into the air, small particles glittering in the firelight. A good two dozen people fell where they stood, and many more were coughing and making a vain attempt to get away from the item's effects, but only to fall into a deep sleep after only a few steps. "Go!" The young man shouted, and they did not have to be told twice. The four of them bolted from the spots they had been fixed on, forcing their way through grabbing hands and futile jabs of make-shift weapons until they broke free of the crowd and were running at full-speed to the north side of the city.

Angry shouts rose from behind them of the civilians that were not effected by the sleep powder. "After them! Do not let them get away!"

Making their way through Shigaldi was more difficult than it seemed as they found themselves climbing over piles of broken buildings and dodging flaming debris raining down from above, as well with one weakened man in tow. Spartoi was able to hold his own, though, and could nonetheless keep up. The sleeping powder may have cleared their path and given them a hefty head start, but now the citizens of Shigaldi were as angry as hornets that had their nests disturbed. At least they had to be grateful for the leap forward that the illusionist gave them…until they reached the north wall.

A massive pile of broken stone stood in their path, twenty feet tall and continuously shifting under its own unstable weight as chunks of stone displaced themselves and creating small avalanches that cascaded to their feet. Just by looking at it, Larva could tell that it was a lot worse than it looked; one wrong step and the whole thing might give out under them, a truly fatal error. And Spartoi… He had done all right on the way here, but a combination of a full Summoning and sprinting half way through the large city was certainly taking its toll on him. 

"Let's go guys, we can't stop!" The voice came from above him, and Larva looked up to see Miyu already half way up the broken wall. "It's not like we got a lot of options, so let's move! We'll be safe as soon as we get into the forest!" There was really no use arguing with her; he could hear the mob growing closer by the second.

"Come on Spartoi, I'll help you up." Larva said, reaching out to take the bigger man's arm in a gesture to help him up the miniature mountain, and was mildly surprised when Spartoi wretched it from Larva's grasp. 

"Like hell you will. I can take care of myself, you just worry about getting yourself over, you hear me?" No matter how bad things got, Spartoi was still himself and making sure that the safety of his companions came before himself; a virtue of a true knight of honor. Knowing that there was no time to argue with him, Larva strapped Gravedigger onto his back and began to make his way shakily up the pile of stone, hanging back just a bit in case the other man might need a helping hand. Miyu was already almost at the crest, with Lemures not too far behind. It might have looked easy, but he reminded himself that Miyu probably only weighed a fraction of what they did and had the unmistakable agility of a cat, and obviously did not have to worry about the rocks shifting under her feet. At one time Lemures' foot fell wrong, and with a dull clatter, lost his balance as the rock under his foot gave way and he slid half way back down the hill if Spartoi had not seized his collar. It seemed to take hours to get up to the top from the strain and carefully feeling the stability of each foothold, but at last they met the girl at the top, just as the citizens rounded a corner to see them peak the fallen wall.

Without saying another word, the group of runaways began to make their way down the opposite side on the outside of what was left of the city wall, a task that proved to be much more difficult than climbing up. Through the most part of the decent they found themselves almost crab-walking down the steep slope. There was a pain in Larva's ankle when his foot twisted the wrong way and his hands cut and bleeding from the sharp shards on which they fell on. But the decent was undoubtedly faster than the climb, and soon they found themselves back on stable, un-shifting land, but their escape still was not over. Miyu was up and running as soon as she reached the forest floor, and the others followed her example without questioning her, knowing that it was important to get as far away as quickly as possible. 

They ran through the night-black forest, trusting their magically heightened senses guide them between the thick trees and dodging turned-up roots and low-hanging branches. Larva was not sure how long they ran for, but his legs were starting to ache due to the strain and his eyes water and his lungs burn from the cool night air. The wind chilled his skin and made his hands hurt, but still, they did not stop running until they heard Miyu's sudden, urgent cry; "Whoa! Stop!" Just ahead of them, they saw Miyu's silhouette stopped ahead of them but wavering as if she was trying to keep her balance…

And a second later, Larva saw why as he was just able to stop himself from going over the edge of a huge, deep ravine that was gaping below them. He regained his balance quickly and grabbed Miyu's shoulders, pulling her back with him so they had a better foothold. That was almost upset when Lemures came to a screeching halt behind them, having to brace himself against Larva's back to keep himself from flying over. It still threw off their balance and once again, all three of them found themselves leaning dangerously over the edge…

Then, coming up from behind them, was the unmistakable crashing sound of Spartoi coming through the trees, and all three of them went cold.

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

"_Look out!"_

But it was too late as the big man came plowing into them at full force, and helpless to do anything but, all four of them fell over the edge and tumbled down into the dark hollow below.

The decent down was anything but pleasant as they fell down into the darkness, hitting what had to be absolutely every root and rock on the way down. After what felt like an eternity of tumbling down the steep slope, Larva finally hit the bottom of the ravine, but just as uncomfortably as he landed on what felt like Lemures' elbow. Bruised and utterly aching from head to toe, the journey was not complete until Miyu, who obviously fell slower than them, landed on the three Summoners with an unpleasant bump and adding to the pain that was already accumulating in Larva's lower back.

For several moments, none of them moved, or even made an attempt to; it felt as if they had been frozen in one huge physical knot of pain and discomfort, and their bodies absolutely refused to answer to any more abuse that was being administered on them. It was Miyu that rolled off first, seeming to be in the least amount of hurt because she had a relatively softer landing, but Larva had no intentions of ever moving again, had Lemures and Spartoi not made the first move and shoved him onto the ground.

"Great. This is just great!" Lemures fumed as he limped around the clear patch that they had fallen into. It was then that Larva realized that things could have been a lot worse, and they could have fallen right into a nice patch of sharp rocks. 

"Lemures, if you say 'things can't get any worse', I will kill you myself." Larva grumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position and working out the crick in his neck. He could not believe that he had complained about the pain he felt when they had to fight the T-rexaur that morning. Compared to this, that had only been a tickle.

"Well, it _can't_." Lemures shot back. "Here we are, in the middle of no where, in the middle of the night and no one knows we're out here! Well, no one who wants to drive a steak knife through out skulls, anyway! We have no provisions, nothing to protect us from the elements, and if you guys have _not_ forgotten, half of the population of Shigaldi _knows_ what we are! It will reach Proxima by sundown tomorrow, and within the week, the entire bloody _country _will know about it! Gods!" He had a hand through his hair, picking out twigs and clumps of dirt as his fingers raked through the tangled locks. "We're in real trouble, guys, and I mean a lot of it. This isn't like the time we lay waste to the kitchens or to half of the Kazarin marketplace, but I mean huge trouble. Trouble as in half the bloody _world's_ going to be hunting for our heads by the end of the month!"

"Lemures, will you just calm down?" Larva said impatiently, making a painful effort to stand up. "You're right, we are in a bit of a spot," he was cut off when Lemures snorted loudly. "but we can't afford to loose our heads. What we need to do is start thinking about where to go from here."

"Then I suggest that you start by following the instructions given in your master's note." The sudden voice from above made them all nearly jump out of their skins, but in the dim moonlight shining through the trees, they could make out of dim outline of the illusionist that had helped them not more than a few minutes ago. He was standing on the top of the ravine, but as soon as he got their attention he began to make his way down to them with surprising ease despite the darkness. There was also something clutched in one of his hands, and as soon as he reached the bottom (it was hard to tell, as the hollow was much darker than it was higher up), a sudden light bloomed in the surrounding, making them all squint and cringe away as the lantern he had brought flared to life.

They were in worse shape than Larva has anticipated. All of his companions were scratched up in a hundred places on their bodies, most of which were only welts, a few bleeding, and were filthy with wet dirt and forest debris. Miyu was in the process of picking twigs out of her long, disheveled hair and Spartoi had a split lip, but other than that, Larva realized that the damage could have been a lot worse. All of them were standing and walking with relative ease, and there were no other broken bones or serious wounds, so at least they could get away quickly. Speaking of which…

"What instructions?" He asked the young boy. Then, remembering his manners and his gratitude, he added quickly, "By the way, thanks for saving us back there. If it hadn't been for you, than they probably would be lining the walls with our quartered limbs right now. I'm Larva, and these are my foster brothers Lemures and Spartoi." Lemures, who was still in a foul mood, only snorted, but Spartoi extended his hand in a warm greeting, but Larva figured that he must have bumped his head on the way down, because he missed the young man's hand by some inches. 

"Name's Ryuko." He said, the serious manner that he once held slackening a bit. "Traveling illusionist extraordinaire, glad to be of service. Now, down to business…"

"Hold on a moment." Spartoi said, approaching the illusionist. "How is it that you want to help us and not boil us in hot oil like the rest of the world?"

Ryuko grinned in a sly, knowing way. "Well, you know what they say; birds of a feather flock together."

"And he's not kidding." Miyu suddenly spoke, and in the corner of his eye, Larva saw a greenish-blue light that he had not noticed before. The source of the light was coming from a small, marble-sized object she was holding that was shining brightly enough to flood the area with that strange glow. "Ranka gave this to me before I met you guys outside, its what we use to find the other Summoners. Interesting little contraption, really. It only responds to a Summoner once, then memorizes their exact aura so it won't respond again. It already read and recorded your auras. Which means…"

Larva's eyes grew wide with realization as his head snapped back to Ryuko. "You're a Summoner?"

"That I am. So glad that I can finally meet those of my own crowd."

A sort of stunned silence filled the area as, for the first time in their lives, the three Summoners were looking on one of their own after a lifetime of thinking they were the only ones in the world. It should not have been too surprising, as Ranka had already told them that there was another one of them in the city. But to run into his so quickly… 

That was when Larva remembered the task that the Keeper had given them. "By the way, you said that our Lord had certain instructions for us. If you guys haven't forgotten, we have a little mission that we're supposed to be carrying out. By the way… When did you meet Lord Pazusu?"

"Before all this started. He sought me out before the ogres attacked and told me that once you were out of the city, to find you and tell you how you're supposed to go about this. Apparently about a mile south of here, he set up your supplies and provisions in the hollowed log of a dead oak with everything you'll need. Then he said to head straight for Kazarin, and hold up in the earl's castle until he can meet you there. Uum…" Ryuko's face twisted a little in an attempt to remember all that he was told. "Damn, I wish he would have written this down, but he obviously didn't want to take the risk… Oh… Lemures, right? You're brother has already on his way to the same place, so he should be there by the time we get there. Other than that, we're supposed to travel the whole night, and not stop until morning. Stay off the roads, and keep your magic stocked. I think that's about it. So…shall we?"

Before saying anything else, the three other men exchanged identical looks with each other that were asking the exact same question that they did not even bother to speak. Finally Lemures shrugged. "What can we say, Lord Pazusu's an enigma of a man. However, it sounds as if he has a good plan; it's better than anything I can think of. Shall we?"

"Yes, let's." Spartoi agreed. "The sooner we get somewhere warm and dry, the better. Lead the way, illusionist." With a performing bow that would do any entertainer proud, he began to walk deeper into the forest, his lantern a firefly through the darkness. There was really no other choice that they had.

But just as Larva went to follow, something small and hard connected with the back of his skull, and he clutched at the spot where the rock had stuck him. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He snapped, glaring back at Miyu. The girl was glaring just as hard back, her golden eyes narrowed.

"That was for trying to bale me out of that situation we were in." She snapped back. "We're in this together, remember? Ranka even specifically said that I was to accompany you the entire time, so don't you dare be pulling anything like that again! We're kind of in an all-or-nothing situation, remember? So don't be treating me like I don't know how to take care of myself!"

"All right, all right." Larva said, holding up his hands as if trying to ward off her words. "I'm sorry for trying to save you life. There, how's that?" Miyu frowned at him for a moment, then a small smile appeared.

"I guess that will do. So come on, we have to catch up. This isn't going to be an easy journey, so we might as well make the most of it." She did a little bounce-jump off of the rock she was standing on and, collecting her bow and following after the pinprick of light that was weaving through the trees.

Larva sighed as he watched her disappear. She was right on one level; this was not going to be an easy trip that lay ahead of them. In fact, it looked to be one huge and epic quest that he would more likely read in a book somewhere.

He had no idea just how monumental it would turn out to be. 

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To Be Continued…

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